Wayne Gilbert (artist)

Last updated

Wayne Gilbert
Wayne Gilbert Wayne gilbert portrait 103.jpg
Wayne Gilbert
Born
Wayne Dale Gilbert

(1946-11-26)November 26, 1946
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
DiedAugust 17, 2023(2023-08-17) (aged 76)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Education University of Houston
Known for Painting
Website https://www.waynegilbert.com

For the Canadian animator, see Wayne Gilbert.

Wayne Dale Gilbert (November 26, 1946 – August 17, 2023) was an American painter and gallerist who lived and worked in Houston, Texas. He was best known for creating paintings using unclaimed, cremated human remains. [1] [2] [3] [4] His life and work were featured in the film “Ash: The Art of Wayne Gilbert,” a documentary directed by filmmaker Wayne Slaten. [3] [5]

Contents

Gilbert was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in Houston, Texas. [6] His father was a carpenter, [6] and his mother was a punch-card operator. [5] After graduating from Stephen F. Austin High School, [6] Gilbert worked as an oil field supplies salesman. [2] His interest in art was sparked in the late 1970s when his wife, Beverley, persuaded him to enroll with her in a class at the Houston Museum District home of artist Chester Snowden. [6] [5]

Gilbert attended the University of Houston, earning a Bachelor of Arts in painting in 1984. [5] He described his early work as “'Absurd Expressionism,' focused on humanity at its ugliest, inspired by subjects such as the Jonestown Massacre.” [5] Gilbert later studied at Rice University, earning a Master of Arts in Liberal Arts in 2012.

In addition to creating art, Gilbert ran G Spot Contemporary Gallery in The Heights [5] [7] neighborhood in central Houston and was a partner in DigitalImaging Group, a Houston-based animation studio. [5]

Gilbert died of cancer in Houston, Texas, on August 17, 2023, at the age of 76. [8] [9] [10] [11]

Painting with Cremains

For Gilbert, the idea of using cremated human remains in his art originated after the death of his uncle. [6]

Gilbert contacted funeral homes to locate unclaimed cremains. [6] [12] He had to search for six months to locate the first funerary ashes he used in a work of art. [2] For his cremains works, he mixed the ashes with resin – occasionally adding pigment – to incorporate them into his pieces. [6] [2] [5] [12]

A film called “Ash: The Art of Wayne Gilbert” documents his work and premiered at the 2017 Houston Cinema Arts Festival at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. [3] [5]

Exhibitions

Related Research Articles

Trenton Doyle Hancock is an American artist working with prints, drawings, and collaged-felt paintings. Through his work, Hancock mainly aims to tell the story of the Mounds, mystical creatures that are part of the artist's world. In this sense, each new artwork is the artist's contribution to the development of Mounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of Fine Arts, Houston</span> Art museum, institute, library, sculpture park in Houston, TX United States

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building in 2020, it is the 12th largest art museum in the world based on square feet of gallery space. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 6,000 years of history with approximately 70,000 works from six continents. In 2023, the museum received over 900,000 visitors, making it the 20th most-visited museum in the United States.

César Augusto Martínez is an artist, prominent in the field of Chicano art. While studying at what was then called Texas A&I College, he became involved in the Chicano movement for civil rights. He subsequently befriended several of its leaders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knox Martin</span> American painter, sculptor, and muralist (1923–2022)

Knox Martin was an American painter, sculptor, and muralist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blaffer Art Museum</span> Museum at the University of Houston

Blaffer Art Museum is a non-collecting contemporary art museum located in the Arts District of the University of Houston campus. Housed in the university’s Fine Arts Building, it is part of the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts. It was founded in 1973 and has won several awards, including the Coming Up Taller Award as part of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. The museum presents focus and major monographic and group exhibitions of national and international contemporary artists as well as artwork by University of Houston School of Art students.

David Pagel is an American art critic, educator, curator, dioramatist and bike enthusiast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Boynton</span> American painter

James W. Jack Boynton was an American artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Wray</span> American painter (1933–2011)

Richard Wray was an American abstract expressionist painter whose work had an influence on the art scene in Houston, Texas. After an art career spanning over 50 years, he died at age 77 of liver disease. His work continues to be showcased by art institutions and organizations across Houston, including the Deborah Colton Gallery, and is listed on the official website for the National Gallery of Art.

Massa Lemu is a visual artist and writer from Malawi who works in painting, drawing, performance and text-based conceptual work. He has described his art as "interventions and descriptions of the disputed social space we all live in".

Melesio "Mel" Casas was an American artist, activist, writer and teacher. He is best known for a cycle of complex, large-scale paintings characterized by cutting wit, incisive cultural and political analysis, and verbal and visual puns that he called Humanscapes, which were painted between 1965 and 1989. Only a few of these Humanscapes address Chicano topics, though they are his most famous paintings, and "have appeared repeatedly in books and exhibitions" and "are rightfully regarded as formative icons of the Chicano art movement." Many of the Humanscape paintings, by contrast, are little known, as is much of the work Casas produced in the following quarter century.

Carita Letitia Huckaby is an American photographer who creates multimedia artwork combining photography and textiles to depict both family narratives and African American history.

Lovie Olivia is an American multidisciplinary visual artist. She uses the media of printmaking, painting, and installations to explore themes of gender, sexuality, race, class and power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrell James</span> American artist

Terrell James is an American artist who makes abstract paintings, prints and sculptures. She is best known for large scale work with paint on stretched fabric, and for parallel small scale explorations such as the Field Studies series, ongoing since 1997. She lives and works in Houston, Texas.

Vincent Valdez is an American artist born in San Antonio, Texas, who focuses on painting, drawing, and printmaking. His artwork often emphasizes themes of social justice, memory, and ignored or under-examined historical narratives. Valdez completed his B.F.A. at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2000. He lives and works in Houston, Texas, and is represented by the David Shelton Gallery (Houston) and Matthew Brown Gallery. Valdez's work has been exhibited at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Ford Foundation, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, National Portrait Gallery, Blanton Museum of Art, Parsons School of Design, and the Fundacion Osde Buenos Aires.

Sarah Campbell Blaffer was an American philanthropist and contributor to the art collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. She inherited two fortunes based on oil money – one from her father's investments in Texaco, and the other from her husband's investments in Humble Oil.

Ricardo Ruiz is a visual artist based in Corpus Christi, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museo Benini</span> Single artist museum in the Texas Hill Country

Museo Benini is a single-artist museum dedicated to the work of Italian artist Benini, born in Imola in the Emilia-Romagna region in 1941. It is in the Texas Hill Country, 47 miles northwest of Austin, Texas which is the home of two other single-artist museums: the Elisabet Ney Museum and the Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum. The museum, as well as a compound of other buildings, is set in 35 acres just south of the city of Marble Falls.

Vicki Meek is an American visual artist, and Black community leader in Dallas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Harithas</span> American art collector (1941–2021)

Ann O'Connor Williams Harithas was an American philanthropist, museum founder, curator and artist.

Jamal Cyrus is an American conceptual artist who works in a range of media, including drawing, sculpture, textiles, assemblage, installation, performance, and sound. His artistic and research practices investigates the history, culture, and identity of the United States, questioning conventional narratives and foregrounding Black political movements, social justice concerns, and the experiences and impact of the African diaspora, including Black music.

References

  1. ↑ Hirsch, Reyne (April 1, 2014). "The Art of Death". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Grossman, Wendy (October 18, 2004). "Ashes to Paint: Houston Artist Wayne Gilbert Loves Working with People – Dead Ones". People Magazine.
  3. 1 2 3 Fletcher, Abner (November 9, 2017). "Bringing Life to Art: Houstonian Incorporates Human Ashes into His Paintings". Houston Public Media. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Cremated remains bring on new forms of art and remembrance". Funeral Director Daily. March 15, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Glentzer, Molly (November 10, 2017). "Remains of his days: Artist Wayne Gilbert ponders what to do with life's work that incorporates cremation ashes". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dansby, Andrew (March 3, 2022). "Using cremated remains, this Houston artist makes dead loved ones come alive through his art". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  7. ↑ Anspon, Catherine (November 12, 2015). "Houston's G Spot: Heights Duo Creates a Special Place". PaperCity Magazine. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  8. ↑ Fuentes, Jessica (August 22, 2023). "Wayne Gilbert, 1946 – 2023". Glasstire. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  9. ↑ Dansby, Andrew (August 18, 2023). "Beloved Houston artist Wayne Gilbert, whose work asked big questions, dead at 76". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  10. ↑ Vognar, Chris (August 29, 2023). "Inside the Final Days of a Houston Artist Inspired by Death". Houstonia. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  11. ↑ Anspon, Catherine D. (October 12, 2023). "Remembering Wayne Gilbert, a Beloved Maverick Houston Artist Who Pushed Limits and Always Had Time For Others". Paper City Magazine. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  12. 1 2 Wetzel, Tim (August 11, 2016). "Artist uses human remains in his artwork". KHOU-11. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Redbud Arts Center presents Wayne Gilbert: Tomorrow's Unknown opening reception". Culture Map. July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Wayne Gilbert: The Classic Cremain Paintings". Glasstire. November 12, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  15. ↑ "Wayne Gilbert: The End Of the Road". Bill Arning Exhibitions. March 3, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Degrees of Separation". Station Museum. 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Art opening reception: Human Remains Paintings by Wayne Gilbert". CultureMap Houston. 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  18. ↑ Rhodes, Dusti (November 22, 2007). "Blind Philosophy". HoustonPress. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Amistad I". Redbud Arts Center. 2007. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Houston Contemporary Art". Redbud Arts Center. 2006. Retrieved July 8, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Blaffer Art Museum Archive". Blaffer Art Museum. 1996. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.